Amanda Preston has been an agent for over 20 years, first working at Sheil Land Associates, and then in 2005 she set up LBA with Luigi and she is a director of the company. She runs the Good Housekeeping Competition with GHK and Orion. In 2018, she won the RNA Literary Agent of the Year award. She represents a wide range of authors, from award-winning debut novelists to popular fiction bestsellers and quality non-fiction.
What was the last book you read?
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
And what did you read it on?
In hardback
What’s next on your reading list?
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
Which writer would you have loved to have met and why?
Agatha Christie. Because she’s Agatha Christie! And so we could talk plots, characters and Devon as well as her Mary Westmacott novels.
What TV series are you obsessing over right now?
I’ve just finished Life in Pieces (all three seasons) and am now hooked on Harlan Coben’s The Stranger.
What was your first job?
Working in a pub.
And your first in the book industry?
Work experience for the Lonely Planet and then a temping job at a literary agency.
What do you love about The London Book Fair?
The buzz, the friendliness and seeing so many familiar faces under one roof.
What is the one essential item you bring to the Fair?
Comfortable shoes
What piece of advice would you give first-timers at the Fair?
It’s like speed-dating for business – smile, don’t overshare and make notes!